Wednesday, 10 May 2017

That time I was interviewed by a major fashion magazine!

I love shopping, but does that mean I love fashion? Probably not!

image taken from vogue-fresh.tumblr.com

Last year I was interviewed by one of the worlds most prestigious fashion magazines. I will not mention names as I still have a great love for this particular publication regardless of my experience and I feel this article isn't a true representative of the magazine. This is about the people behind the scenes. So out of respect for a publication I enjoy, I have decided to remain silent on the name.

My story ▸

I interviewed for this magazine over a year and a half ago now. It was during a time when I was on the look out for something new, perhaps a change of career, focus or just something to make me feel more alive. I think deep down, I wanted a change. I thought about moving my career to the next level and maybe taking my writing and ideas to a place where they would be appreciated, accepted and enhanced. I found this position via Facebook which a friend of mine had recommended. All it said was x company needs someone creative to start ASAP email your application here. So spontaneously, I did so. If you know me, you would know that this is out of my usual character. I like order of some kind and well I like to know what I am applying for before doing so. I like to prep before an interview and research the company and the role. I'm not a time waster and I don't like people to waste my time either. Sounds extremely OTT, but I do feel that I make a good point that many people could relate to. However, something about the idea of just going for it excited me. Plus I knew if I chose to work at this publication that my career would take an interesting turn.

I feel that most things need some sort of process, especially the recruitment process. It doesn't have to be strict or ridged as I am extremely fluid and know that things change quite quickly. However, as a candidate, I feel that when I am being recruited, the experience I have is a clear representation of the business and what my experience is going to be like when I am there.

I emailed over my CV and asked a few strategic questions about the job role, pay and what to expect. All the usual things you should enquire about. What I received back was a time/place and was just expected to show up. They ignored every question I asked. That itself should have given me red flags. The location the sent me was to a local coffee shop. They obviously didn't want their potential new employee to come to the office. I was sent zero information on the job itself and wasn't even provided a job title.

I have to say, this was one of the worst interview experiences I have ever had. Let me explain.So far, things weren't looking great. Now I know you're wondering why on earth would I have bothered with the lack of information given to me. Yet, I like a challenge. I have confidence in my abilities to shine through and felt that maybe any task that was thrown my way would have been okay! Because I can try and tackle any problem. Plus, given who they are, I thought it would be perfect for me! Perfect for what I wanted.So, I arrived at the coffee shop with nothing more than my high-street fashion sense and my CV. Last minute I was emailed as the woman that was originally meant to meet me couldn't make it, so instead I was sent a replacement. Which I didn't know about until 5 minutes before my interview and had absolutely no idea what she looked like. Not a great start. The coffee house was busy and noisy as standard for a London coffee house. I sat there waiting. 10 minutes later than my interview time, a slender brunette walked in. She screamed designer so I suspected it was her - I was right. She sat down and just waited. I approached and she gave me a look which screamed shit on my shoe then stood up and shook my hand. Clearly my high-street fashion sense didn't go down well. I know a resting bitch face, but I think my entire presence offended her. I smiled and announced myself. I could barely hear her as I asked my questions which she seemed perfectly clueless about. She briefly spoke to me about the magazine and then it was all about her career - which is obviously why we were there! Not. I wasn't asked about my experience, I wasn't asked why I wanted the job, I wasn't asked what I thought I could bring to the business. I remember feeling extremely disappointed by the whole experience. This magazine that I have loved for years basically crushed any hopes of me wanting to work for them.I thought working in the fashion industry would give me the chance to align my love for fashion and beauty with my everyday work life. I was VERY wrong. I left that interview feeling so deflated. I'm not saying that all high-end fashion magazines are the same, but this really didn't give me the best impression. The next day, they offered me the job. I said no thank you - because manners never killed anybody. Hopefully my next experience with a prestigious company is a better one.